Europe's expanding heat wave fuels record temperatures, including in the Alps
It caps what should be one of the hottest Junes on record for the continent and kick-starts July in the same fashion. The air mass fueling the conditions — part of an expansive heat dome — originated in the deserts of Africa, where records were also set in Morocco. The heat extends from the seas to the mountains, including in areas usually chilled at this time of year by abundant snowpack. In the French Alps, a new June record was set when the freezing 32-degree line (0 Celsius) rose to 16,850 feet above sea level.
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CNN
5 minutes ago
- CNN
European summers are getting brutally hot. So why is air conditioning so rare?
A brutal heat wave is gripping many parts of Europe, leaving millions of people struggling to adapt to punishing, record-breaking temperatures. Heat persists even at night, with temperatures in some places not dipping much below 90 degrees. There is little respite. Air conditioning is very rare in European homes. Many residents are being forced to ride out the searing heat with the help of electric fans, ice packs and cold showers. But Europe hasn't approached heat in the same way as the historically hotter United States. While nearly 90% of US homes have air conditioning, in Europe it's around 20%, and some countries have much lower rates. In the United Kingdom, only around 5% of homes have cooling systems — many of which are portable AC units. In Germany, the figure is 3%. As climate change drives more severe and prolonged heat waves, which arrive earlier and earlier, some are questioning why wealthy European countries have been seemingly reluctant to adopt air conditioning — especially as the heat takes an increasingly deadly toll. A big part of the reason is many European countries historically had little need for cooling, especially in the north. Heat waves have always happened but rarely reached the prolonged high temperatures Europe now regularly endures. 'In Europe… we simply don't have the tradition of air conditioning… because up to relatively recently, it hasn't been a major need,' said Brian Motherway, head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions at the International Energy Agency. This meant AC has traditionally been seen as a luxury rather than a necessity, especially as installing and running it can be expensive. Energy costs in many European countries are higher than in the US, while incomes tend to be lower. Energy prices have risen even further since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, as the EU takes steps to phase out its reliance on Russian oil and gas. Though prices have stabilized since the initial energy crisis of 2022, the cost of powering an AC unit may still be out of reach for many Europeans. Then there's the architecture. Some buildings in hotter, southern European countries were built for the heat. They have thick walls, small windows that keep the sun from beaming inside and are designed to maximize air flow. This has helped keep them cooler and lessened the perceived need for artificial cooling. In other parts of Europe, however, homes have not been designed with heat in mind. 'We haven't been in the habit … of thinking about how we stay cool in the summer. It really is a relatively recent phenomenon,' said Motherway. Buildings on the continent tend to be older, built before AC technology became mainstream. In England, which has just endured its hottest June on record, one in six homes were built before 1900. It can be harder to outfit older homes with central cooling systems, although far from impossible, Motherway said. Sometimes a bigger problem is red tape, said Richard Salmon, the director of the Air Conditioning Company based in the UK. UK authorities will often reject applications to install AC 'on the basis of the visual appearance of the outdoor condenser unit, especially in conservation areas or on listed buildings,' he said. There is also a policy angle. Europe has pledged to become 'climate neutral' by 2050 and a sharp increase in air conditioners will make climate commitments even harder to reach. Not only are air conditioners energy guzzlers, but they also push heat outside. A study looking at AC use in Paris found they could increase the outside temperature between about 2 and 4 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7.2 Fahrenheit). This impact is especially severe in Europe's generally dense cities. Some countries have imposed measures to limit air conditioning. In 2022, Spain introduced rules stipulating AC in public places should be set no lower than 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) to save energy. Attitudes and concerns around AC in Europe are changing, however, as the continent becomes a climate hotspot, warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world. The continent faces a dilemma: embrace energy-intensive air conditioning, with the negative climate impacts it brings, or find alternative ways to cope with its ever-hotter future. 'Our homes need to be resilient not just to the cold, but to the increasingly brutal heat,' said Yetunde Abdul, director at UK Green Building Council. There are already clear signs uptake is increasing in Europe, as in many parts of the world. An IEA report found the number of air conditioning units in the EU is likely to rise to 275 million by 2050 — more than double the 2019 figure. The Air Conditioning Company's Salmon says he has seen demand for air conditioning skyrocket. 'Over the last five years, residential enquiries have more than tripled. This heatwave in particular has sent things through the roof… People just can't function when they're boiling at 3 a.m.' Some politicians are pushing for a sweeping uptake of AC. France's far-right politician Marine Le Pen has vowed to implement a 'major air conditioning infrastructure plan,' while criticizing the 'so-called French elites' who encourage others to seek alternative cooling methods while they 'obviously enjoy air-conditioned cars and offices.' But experts warn AC may be a quick reprieve from scorching temperatures but it gobbles up energy, most of which still comes from planet-heating fossil fuels. Using fossil fuel-powered AC increases planet-heating pollution, which in turn increases temperatures, fueling 'a vicious cycle of worsening climate change,' said Radhika Khosla, an associate professor at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. The reality is mindsets around AC are undoubtedly going to change in Europe, as extreme heat — and its health impacts — increases, IEA's Motherway said. The challenge will be making sure countries have strong regulations around the efficiency of cooling systems to reduce their potentially huge climate impact. 'Because every air conditioner sold today locks in energy use and emissions for the next decade or two decades. So it's important we get this right first time.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
What shall I tell my friend when she smells in the heat?
As a July baby, I am on the side of sunshine and the causes of sunshine. Warmth is my medium. When the local TV news carried a 'yellow heat health alert' – the condition formerly known as 'summer' – yesterday, I rolled my eyes. Don't talk to me about heat. Some of us are old enough to remember the summer of 1976, when it was so hot for so long that the tarmac on the pavements melted and the lampposts dipped like wading birds. Lawns were crispy brown and people queued at standpipes for water. No one had heard of 'air con' and sunscreen was in its infancy. We didn't really bother with it. I remember the agony of badly burnt shoulders on Bri-Nylon sheets in a seaside boarding house. Somehow the artificial fibres, slithery to the touch, made it worse. Can that be right? A heatwave is not 'three or four days' as a TV weatherman tried to claim. Wimps! When I tweeted my memories of the summer of '76, several people raised me the sizzling summer of '59, before my time. 'Now that really was a summer from May 5 to mid-October,' Michael recalled. 'Weeks and weeks of hot weather.' Anyway, yesterday I finally cracked and broke my vow to never ever complain when we have great weather in this country. The dog was miserable and could only be walked at first light or after 8pm. I put ice cubes in Bingo's water. I had the fan on all night Monday into Tuesday, but I still woke up feeling like I hadn't had any joined-up sleep, so I was tetchy. And then there was the unmentionable problem: body odour. Two showers a day to try and keep the sweat at bay. But what about other stinky people – do you say something or not? I met a friend for a coffee at my club in London; Sarah had just got off the Tube, where the heat had gathered in the tunnels like a furnace and the air was unbearable: soupy and stagnant. When Sarah dipped in for a hug, the pong made my eyes water. KO'd by BO! She said she had her office summer party in a couple of hours and I wondered if I should tell her. Tell her what exactly? 'You smell, darling?' 'How about some more deodorant?' What if she was mortified? There is no sweat etiquette that I'm aware of. But I couldn't let my friend enter a room with all of her staff and have them thinking the new boss had terrible personal hygiene. On the other hand, a polite form of words eluded me. I pulled out some perfume from my bag and sprayed her generously with it. 'Do I pong?' she laughed. 'Er, a bit sweaty, yes.' 'Ah, thank you for telling me.' Sarah reminded me that she totally lost her sense of smell after Covid. 'It's good because I can't smell anyone else. Trouble is, I can't smell if I smell either.' We went to the powder room and Sarah had what my grandmother used to call a 'strip wash' while I held her blouse. Her body was now clean, but the blouse was impregnated with sweat. I applied lashings of perfume under its arms and over her hair. I just got a text from Sarah: 'After you washed me and sprayed me with perfume I went to that office party. There was no air movement at all and I was talking to the most wonderful, suave, handsome Frenchman. I'm sure all he could smell was the strange combination of leftover BO and your scent. He thought I was a party girl on the pull – it was great!' I'm glad I told Sarah about the BO because, I guess, I'd hope someone would be honest with me – and that I wouldn't take offence. Meanwhile, I made a mental note to travel everywhere with a can of 72-hour odour protection and a change of top. Even a July baby was prepared to concede that, just for once, it was too darn hot. And then, this morning, the loveliest sound in the world: rain! Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Wimbledon groundsman says Centre Court holding firm amid record heat
Wimbledon's head groundsman says this year's Centre Court turf is standing up well to extreme temperatures after a dry spring and one of the hottest starts to the tournament on record. Temperatures hit 29.7C on Monday, making it the hottest opening day in Wimbledon's history, and rose further to 34.2C on Tuesday. Neil Stubley, head of courts and horticulture at the All England Club, said staff were able to put extra water on the courts during practice week thanks to stable conditions. 'Fortunately, we've been able to put some extra water down,' he said. 'When you have short bursts of hot weather – we can handle that. 'The data that we're collecting at the moment is pretty much telling us that they are within the ranges that we would expect for the start of Championships into day three.' With climate experts warning that extreme heat could become more frequent, Mr Stubley said they are constantly preparing for what lies ahead. 'Whatever comes in the future, who knows?' he said. 'We're very mindful of the predictions, with all the research that we do. 'In the future, if we feel we have to look at different cultivars of grass, we'll pre-empt that sort of thing. 'All the research we do with our grasses, we're now selecting grasses that are more drought tolerant. 'By the time we get to future weather patterns, we'll be in the best place that we can be.' Wednesday has finally brought wet weather to Wimbledon after two days of searing heat.
